Chapter 34: 19

Volume 3, Chapter 19: Hareyama Hanae's Confession

 

Author Note:

Because there were too many requests for Reika's three sizes:

B: Moderate

W: Just right

H: Proper

 

 

"―― We're here, huh."

"Yeah."

 

Hareyama and I were standing in front of a door at a certain apartment. What faced us, was Hareyama's home.

To be honest, when I heard they had no money and were in debt, I imagined a lot of things, but it seemed just lik an ordinary apartment.

 

"Are you prepared?"

"Yeah."

"I see. By the way, are we going to meet your parents while holding hands?"

"Yeah."

 

Eh, really? I got an unexpected answer.

I tried joking to relieve the tension, but she responded back with a serious expression on her face. Rather than letting go, she gripped me even tighter.

It wasn't difficult what to imagine how they'd feel when a daughter who ran away from home came back holding hands with a guy.

 

"...We should let go, because it's not good for my heart."

"Huh~, so you're surprisingly chickening out."

"Chicken...no but, aren't we going to meet your father?"

"You're going to ask him for his daughter, right? Come on, let's go."

 

My god, this girl was too cool. I thought I would be the one pulling her, but before I knew it, I was the one who got pulled instead.

Without any hesitation on her end, Hareyama opened the door with a dignified expression on her face.

 

"―― I'm home."

 

When Hareyama uttered this in a small voice, the response was quick.

A thudding sound could be heard from the back. Someone seemed like they were running towards us.

 

"I-is that Hanae?!"

 

The man who popped out was, well, probably Hareyama's father.

My first impression was...yeah, they definitely weren’t any similar.

Reika's father was like a bundle of kindness, but Hanae's father was...overbearing.

 

"Thank goodness...I was worried because you said you were leaving all of a sudden."

"I'm here to talk."

"I-I see. By the way, the guy next to you..."

 

The foreign entity that appeared in this place, which was me, attracted her father's gaze.

But there wasn't any rejection nor confusion in his eyes. Only a sense of acceptance.

 

"...Susumu-kun? You've grown after I haven't seen you for a while."

"What are you talking about? They're completely different, so don't lump them together."

"I-I had it wrong?  Then, that boy is..."

 

Once he realized I wasn't Tendou, her father's mood changed.

Maybe things might have gone easier if her childhood friend Tendou was here instead.

 

"It's nice to meet you. I'm sorry for coming over on such a short notice. My name is Jimichi Ikuto, a classmate of Hanae-san."

"Classmate...? Did you bring me back Hanae? Thank you."

 

When I introduced myself, her dad bowed lightly toward me.

When he raised his head back again, her eyes had already shifted to Hareyama.

 

"Hanae, let's talk. Your mother is already waiting for you inside."

"Yeah."

"Jimichi-kun. I'm sorry, but for today ――"

"―― I don't want to go in unless he's with me."

 

Hareyama interrupted her father's words, squeezing my hand as she did so.

It was grip that didn't intend on letting go, and I didn't miss her father's eyes looking over our connected hands.

 

"...You two, what kind of relationship do you have? Are you really just classmates...?"

"Do you think I'm just going to hold hands with a classmate and bring him home?"

"No...i-in other words...a boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend, he's someone I like."

"S-so, it's someone you like...eh?"

"Hey, this should be enough for now, right? We should talk inside."

"Ah...not but, this is our family's..."

"If it weren't for Jimichi-kun, I wouldn't be here in the first place."

 

I was casually told that she liked me, but how was I supposed to react to this?

Rather, did she really even need me? I came here with the intention of backing up Hareyama who had difficulty talking herself, but she had been too open since a while ago.

Her father, intimidated by the imposing figure of Hareyama, agreed to allow me to attend the meeting and guided me inside their apartment.

 

"...Hey."

"D-don't ask anything for now."

"..."

"...I just said that in the heat of the moment..."

 

No, I heard you. Well, there were definitely things people would let out under such a momentum.

Switching our focus to the matter at hand, we walked inside, hands still held together.

 

――――

――

―

 

We entered the room to discuss, and I once again introduced myself.

Her father was Haruo-san, and her mother was Eri-san. As soon as I saw Eri-san, I immediately knew that Hareyama was just like her mother.

The two of them looked like they wanted to talk to each her properly. The problem was that Hareyama's behaviour changed after she entered the apartment.

 

"..."

 

Hareyama was no longer the magnificent person she was a moment ago.

Her father on the other hand, seemed like he had no idea where to begin.

It looked like they never had any face-to-face discussions like this, so perhaps this was inevitable.

Then, this should be where I came in. This was why I was here for Hareyama.

 

"Sorry. I heard a lot of things, from Hanae-san."

"I-is that so?"

"I know it's not pleasant for an outsider to butt into the conversation, but this should be okay, right?"

"...Hmm."

 

I checked the situation with Haruo-san, who nodded at my words, and I also checked on how Eri-san was doing.

Hareyama still hung her head low, but she should hear my voice should just fine.

 

"I just want to make sure I understand something first..."

"What is it?"

"I heard about the debt..."

"...Yeah."

"At that time, you offered Hanae in exchange for a loan...is that true?"

 

It was crazy to begin with this, but I really needed to hear about this first.

If it was true, then there was no need to discuss, and I would immediately leave this house with Hanae.

From the mood around the other two people, I didn't think that they were going to spit out lies under this situation, and the looks on their faces when they heard me had me convinced that this was all a misunderstanding.

 

"O-offered...so you thought of it like that..."

"So, that wasn't the case?"

"It's not. I didn't offer anything."

 

The moment Haruo-san said this, I noticed that Hareyama, seated beside me, twitched.

I continued asking questions in order to let Hareyama understand the details.

 

Hareyama wasn't sold. However, it wasn't unreasonable for Hareyama to misunderstand.

I was able to understand what her father was thinking at the time he was about to borrow the money.

Nevertheless, it was true that Hareyama suffered because of the misleading way he told her the situation, as well as failing to explain it properly.

In addition to that, the debt had nothing to do with the cause in the first place. Fights between parents shouldn’t matter to their kids because they couldn't even do anything about them.

It was even more wrong to involve them in the first place.

 

I understood the situation, and I also understood her parents' sentiments who found it difficult to talk about the matter simply because she was their own child.

But then, the fact that they didn't discuss nor communicate led to this current predicament.

It should have never gotten this messy. If they were thinking of Hareyama, they should have talked to her properly, instead of contemplating about the situation.

Their immaturity had hurt Hareyama, and their selfishness had caused their differences. The two apologized to Hareyama many times because of this.

 

"It's all because we were acting too childish. Really, I feel sorry for what we did to Hanae."

"I'm sorry, Hanae..."

 

The parents' feelings were properly conveyed, but it wasn't so easy to mend the tear.

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It took time to clear up the grievances that piled up. But if they took the initiative to start, then they would surely get back together someday.

 

"...I've been reluctant to go there recently."

"Is that so... Sorry, I didn't even notice that. I thought Hanae did because she wanted to."

"Because it's the only place I could be, so I had to go."

"I'm sorry..."

 

Hareyama's thoughts changed after they went into debt. If only even one person talked to Hareyama, all this could have been avoided.

I didn't realize, I thought you knew. I didn't notice, I couldn't have seen that.

It seemed natural for her, and so they wanted it to be. Those selfish illusions that were forced on Hareyama by those around her caused her to suffer.

 

"But you know, Jimichi-kun created a new place for me."

"..."

"It was a lot of fun, so much that I just wanted to keep staying there."

"Oh..."

"I wish I could stay here forever...that's what I thought."

 

Maybe there was a future like that. If Hareyama really wanted so, then that might have been good thing for her.

But Hareyama's true wish was different. That, I was able to figure out.

If it was a wish that couldn't come true, then I could just forget about it. But if there was a possibility that it could, then I wanted to make that a reality.

And now, the chance for her to fulfill that wish had arrived.

This was her last chance to realize the wish she had almost given up on.

That little girl desperately expressed her wish with tears in her eyes.

 

"But...this is the place I really wanted to be! I want to be with mom and dad, here!"

""――!""

"I wish the three of us could laugh together again! I want to go out and have fun with you! I want to tell you stories, and I want you to listen to them!"

"..."

"I'm really sorry..."

 

Ignoring the tears that streamed down her face, Hareyama let out those words.

Sometimes, what she said couldn't even be understood because of her sobbing.

But her thoughts should have been well transmitted. There was no way that a cry from the bottom of her heart wouldn't able to express her wish.

 

"I tried my best! I wanted you both to praise me like you used to...because...because..."

 

She had a lot pent up. There were so many things she wanted to say, and so many else that she wanted them to hear.

Because ――

 

"Because...―― I love you!"

 

―― However, that wasn't all there was.

 

"Sorry, I'm the one to blame...! It's all my fault..."

"Sorry, sorry, Hanae! I love you, too!"

"...Mom, Dad…"

 

Leaning over the table, Hareyama hugged the both of them.

The two and Hareyama both clung on each other tightly, hoping to be never separated again.

Hareyama cried like a kid, and the two were full of tears as well.

 

―― Ah, everything was going to be all right now. That was all I could think of.

You did a good job... I didn't do anything in particular as I sipped on my tea and watched them.

 

――――

――

―

 

"―― Your face does look something."

"Ahaha, I think I've cried enough for a lifetime."

"But for some reason, I think it looks good on you."

"What's with that~? Do you like seeing me crying?"

 

The three of them had bright red eyes. Hareyama's face in particular looked terrible, but her expression had all cleared up.

The other two were smiling at us as we joked around. Then, I called out to them.

 

"So, here's what's going to happen in the future."

"Future...?"

"Hanae-san is free to do anything whatever she wants, right? That means you don't have to go to Tendou-san's house anymore."

"Of course. We thought Hanae went to Tendou-san's because she wanted to."

"I'll talk to Tendou-san about it. I'm sure she made the suggestions because she was thinking of Hanae."

 

From what I heard, the company was on track to repay their debts, and they seemed to have recovered well.

Her father said that they would discuss the matter again with Tendou's parents.

It was true that there were problems in her home environment because of these fights. He said he would make sure to communicate the current situation and confirm Hanae's intentions.

 

"But Mom thought the person you liked was Susumu-kun."

"I did, too."

"Hm~m...I don't know if I've ever liked him."

 

Was that the case? Wasn't it normal for childhood friends to favour each other unconditionally?

I didn't know what Tendou thought of Hareyama, but...don't worry about it, Tendou.

 

"That misunderstanding was a big part of the situation...sorry."

"It's fine already~...but right, I am now free to do whatever I want."

 

After she said that much, Hareyama turned her attention to me.

With bright red eyes and rosy cheeks, she made a shocking statement in front of her parents.

 

"I think I'll go live at Jimichi-ku...Ikuto-kun's place."

"""H...huh?!"""

"Because Ikuto-kun, you can't do without me, right?"

"No, I don't recall being ruined that much..."

"Although, she did already make up with us..."

"Well, can't be helped, then."

 

No, it's not 'it can't be helped' if you went about this normally, you know?

Please don't look like you don't have a choice, dear father, and please keep your daughter in line.

 

"Hey, Hareyama."

"I don't like that, call me Hanae."

"...Hanae, you should go back to where you belong."

"That's a different story~."

 

I could kind of understand what she was trying to say, but was this okay?

A place that you could return to anytime, wouldn't that be somewhere you belonged to?

 

"It’s because there's just so many girls around Ikuto-kun."

"Is that so? Well, he sure is popular, isn't he."

"Okay Hanae, you can go to his house and drop him off.  But do come home once in a while..."

"Yeah! My father gave me permission now, so it's okay, right?"

 

If you ask me if I was fine with it or now, I didn't really mind either way.

Her mother aside, her father probably didn't like the idea. But after everything that just happened, he wouldn't be able to resist Hanae even if he wanted to.

 

"But, I'll go tomorrow instead, okay? I want to stay here for now."

"...Sure, do as you like."

 

The joy on the faces of the other two when I said that was priceless.

Were they going to stay up all night? Tomorrow was the last day of school, not to mention she also had a make-up exam, so it was better to do it in moderation.

From now on, they could about whatever they wanted, for as long as they liked.

 

"Then, I'll excuse myself."

"Oh, thank you very much, really."

"Come back and visit us anytime, okay?"

 

Seeing the three of them off, I headed to the front door and placed my hand on the doorknob.

I opened the door and turned around to say my greetings one last time when Hanae jumped into my chest.

 

"Hey, Ikuto-kun."

"Hmm?"

"Um, you know...―― I love you."

 

Ooh, thank you for such an amazing smile.

After all, Hanae should be like this.

 

――――

――

―

 

Hanae: Sorry, I still want to see you after all. (。´Д⊂)

Ikuto: Are your parents okay with this~?

Hanae: They told me to go (^-^)v

Ikuto: Got it. I'll pick you up at the station, the usual place.

Hanae: I'll be waiting (人´ з`*)♪

Ikuto: Ah, but Reika is there, too.

Hanae: Huh?

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